Accused Mexican former drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada appears in Brooklyn federal court, New York, U.S, October 18, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS
A newspaper seller arranges newspapers reporting the El Paso, Texas, U.S., arrest of Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, “El Chapo” Guzman’s son, in Mexico City, Mexico July 26, 2024. REUTERS
MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Accused Mexican drug kingpin Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is willing to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors in the United States if the arrangement spares him from the death penalty, his lawyer told Reuters on Monday.
Zambada pleaded not guilty in federal court in New York last September to 17 felony counts including drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges. He has been jailed pending trial.
“Mr. Zambada does not want to go to trial and is willing to accept responsibility for a charge that does not include the death penalty,” lawyer Frank Perez said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Brooklyn, which brought the charges, declined to comment.
Zambada, who is in his 70s, was taken into U.S. custody last July at a New Mexico airfield along with one of Guzman’s sons, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, in a major coup for U.S. law enforcement.
Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; additional reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Writing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Editing by Kylie Madry
